phantastes ; a faerie romance (george macdonald, 1858).pdf

7/27/2019 Phantastes ; A Faerie Romance (George MacDonald, 1858).pdf

1/337


2/337


3/337


4/337


5/337

/r:/.


6/337


7/337

PHANTASIES:A FAERIE ROMANCE.

Phantasies from ' their fount' all shapes deriving,In new habiliments can quickly dight.

FLETCHEB'S Purple Island.


8/337

Es lassen sich Erzahlungen ohne Zusammenhang, jedoch mitAssociation, wie Traume, denken ; Gedichte, die bloss wohlklin-gend und roll schoner Worte sind, aber auch ohne alien Sinn undZusammenhang, hochstens einzelne Strophen verstandlich, wieBruchstiicke aus den verschiedenartigsten Dingen. Diese wahrePoesie kann hochstens einen allegorischen Sinn im G rossen, undeine indirecte Wirkung, wie Musik haben. Darum ist die Naturso rein poetisch, wie die Stube eines Zauberers, eines Physikers,eine Kinderstube, eine Polter-und Vorrathskammer. * *Ein Mahrchen ist wie ein Traumbild ohne Zusammenhang.

Ein Ensemble wunderbarer Dinge und Begebenheiten, z. B. eineMusikalische Phantasie, die harmonischen Folgen einer Aeolsharfe,die Natur selbst.

* * * * *In einem echten Mahrchen muss alles wunderbar, geheim-

nissvoll und zusammenhangend sein; alles belebt, jeder auf eineandere Art. Die ganze Natur muss wunderlich mit der ganzenGeisterwelt gemischt sein ; hier tritt die Zeit der Anarchie, derGesetzlosigkeit, Freiheit, der Naturstand der Natur, die Zeit vorder Welt ein. . . . Die Welt des Mahrchens ist die, der Weltder Wahrheit durchaus entgegeugesetzte, und eben darum ihr sodurchaus ahnlich, wie das Chaos der vollendeten Schopfungahnlich ist. NOVALIS.


9/337

PHANTASIES:

awii[ Itomatttf far Pp and

AUTHOR OF " WITHIN AND WITHOUT."

In good sooth, my masters, this is no door. Yet is it a little window, thatlooketh upon a great world.

LONDON:SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, COENHILL.

1858.

[ The rigid of Translation is reserved ]


10/337


11/337

Annex

PHANTASIES,i.

A spirit * ** * * *The undulating -woods, and silent well,And rippling rivulet, and evening gloom,Now deepening the dark shades, for speech assuming,Held commune with him ; as if he and itWere all that was.

SHELLEY'S Alastor.

I awoke one morning with the usual perplexity ofmind which accompanies the return of consciousness.As I lay and looked through the eastern windowof my room, a faint streak of peach-colour, dividinga cloud that just rose above the low swell of thehorizon, announced the approach of the sun. Asmy thoughts, which a deep and apparently dreamlesssleep had dissolved, began again to assume crystallineforms, the strange events of the foregoing nightpresented themselves anew to my wondering con-

B

2038557


12/337

2 PHANTASTES:sciousness. The day before had been my one-and-twentieth birthday. Among other ceremonies invest-ing me with my legal rights, the keys of an oldsecretary, in which my father had kept his privatepapers, had been delivered up to me. As soon asI was left alone, I ordered lights in the chamberwhere the secretary stood, the first lights that hadbeen there for many a year ; for, since my father'sdeath, the room had been left undisturbed. But,as if the darkness had been too long an inmate toto be easily expelled, and had dyed with blacknessthe walls to which, bat-like, it had clung, thesetapers served but ill to light up the gloomy hang-ings, and seemed to throw yet darker shadows intothe hollows of the deep-wrought cornice. All thefurther portions of the room lay shrouded in amystery whose deepest folds were gathered aroundthe dark oak cabinet which I now approached witha strange mingling of reverence and curiosity.Perhaps, like a geologist, I was about to turn upto the light some of the buried strata of the humanworld, with its fossil remains charred by passionand petrified by tears. Perhaps I was to learn howmy father, whose personal history was unknownto me, had woven his web of story; how he had


13/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 3found the world, and how the world had left him.Perhaps I was to find only the records of landsand moneys, how gotten and how secured ; comingdown from strange men, and through troublous times,to me who knew little or nothing of them all.To solve my speculations, and to dispel the awe

which was fast gathering around me as if thedead were drawing near, I approached the secretary ;and having found the key that fitted the upperportion, I opened it with some difficulty, drew nearit a heavy high-backed chair, and sat down beforea multitude of little drawers and slides and pigeon-holes. But the door of a little cupboard in thecentre especially attracted my interest, as if therelay the secret of this long hidden world. Its keyI found. One of the rusty lunges cracked and brokeas I opened the door : it revealed a number of smallpigeon-holes. These, however, being but shallow com-pared with the depth of those around the little cup-board, the outer ones reaching to the back of the desk,I concluded that there must be some accessible spacebehind ; and found, indeed, that they were formed ina separate framework, which admitted of the wholebeing pulled out in one piece. Behind, I founda sort of flexible portcullis of small bars of wood

B 2


14/337

4 PHANTASTES :laid close together horizontally. After long search,and trying many ways to move it, I discovered atlast a scarcely projecting point of steel on one side.I pressed this [repeatedly and hard with the pointof an old tool that was lying near, till at length ityielded inwards ; and the little slide, flying upsuddenly, disclosed a chamber empty, exceptthat in one corner lay a little heap of withered rose-leaves, whose long-lived scent had long since departed ;and, in another, a small packet of papers, tiedwith a bit of ribbon, whose colour had gone withthe rose-scent. Almost fearing to touch them,they witnessed so mutely to the law of oblivion,I leaned back in my chair, and regarded them for amoment ; when suddenly there stood on the thresh-old of the little chamber, as though she had justemerged from its depth, a tiny woman-form, asperfect in shape as if she had been a small Greekstatuette roused to life and motion. Her dress wasof a kind that could never grow old-fashioned, becauseit was simply natural : a robe plaited in a bandaround the neck, and confined by a belt about thewaist, descended to her feet. It was only afterwards,however, that I took notice of her dress, althoughmy surprise was by no means of so overpowering


15/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 5a degree as such an apparition might naturally beexpected to excite. Seeing, however, as I suppose,some astonishment in my countenance, she cameforward within a yard of me, and said, in a voice thatstrangely recalled a sensation of twilight, and reedyriver banks, and a low wind, even in this deathlyroom,"Anodos, you never saw such a little creaturebefore, did you ? "

" No," said I ; " and indeed I hardly believe Ido now."" Ah ! that is always the way with you men ;

you believe nothing the first time ; and it is foolishenough to let mere repetition convince you of whatyou consider in itself unbelievable. I am not goingto argue with you, however, but to grant you awish."Here I could not help interrupting her with the

foolish speech, of which, however, I had no causeto repent :

" How can such a very little creature as yougrant or refuse anything ? "

" Is that all the philosophy you have gained inone-and twenty years ?" said she. "Form is much,but size is nothing. It is a mere matter of relation.


16/337

6 PHAXTASTES:I suppose your six-foot lordship does not feel alto-gether insignificant, though to others you do looksmall beside your old Uncle Ralph, who rises aboveyou a great half-foot at least. But size is of solittle consequence with me, that I may as wellaccommodate myself to your foolish prejudices."

So saying, she leapt from the desk upon the floor ;where she stood a tall, gracious lady, with paleface and large blue eyes. Her dark hair flowedbehind, wavy but uncurled, down to her waist, andagainst it her form stood clear in its robe of white." Now," said she, " you will believe me."Overcome with the presence of a beauty which

I could now perceive, and drawn towards her byan attraction irresistible as incomprehensible, I

suppose I stretched out my arms towards her, forshe drew back a step or two, and said :"Foolish boy, if you could touch me, I should

hurt you. Besides, I was two hundred and thirty-seven years old, last Midsummer eve ; and a manmust not fall in love with his grandmother, youknow."

" But you are not my grandmother," said I." How do you know that ? " she retorted. " I daresay you know something of your great grandfathers


17/337

A FAERIE KOMANCE. 7a good deal further back than that ; but you knowvery little about your great grandmothers

on eitherside. Now, to the point. Your little sister wasreading a fairy-tale to you last night."

" She was."" When she had finished, she said, as she closed

the book,' Is there a fairy-country, brother ?

'

Youreplied with a sigh, * I suppose there is, if one couldfind the way into it.'"

" I did ; but I meant something quite differentfrom what you seem to think."" Never mind what I seem to think. You shallfind the way into Fairy Land to-morrow. Now lookin my eyes."

Eagerly I did so. They filled me with an un-known longing. I remembered somehow that mymother died when I was a baby. I looked deeperand deeper, till they spread around me like seas,and I sank in their waters. I forgot all the rest,till I found myself at the window, whose gloomycurtains were withdrawn, and where I stood gazingon a whole heaven of stars, small and sparklingin the moonlight. Below lay a sea, still as deathand hoary in the moon, sweeping into bays andaround capes and islands, away, away, I knew


18/337

8 PHANTASTES:not whither. Alas ! it was no sea, but a low fogburnished by the moon. "Surely there is sucha sea somewhere ! " said I to myself. A low sweetvoice beside me replied" In Fairy Land, Anodos."I turned, but saw no one. I closed the secretary,

and went to my own room, and to bed.All this I recalled as I lay with half-closed eyes.

I was soon to find the truth of the lady's promise,that this day I should discover the road into Fairy-Land.


19/337

A FAEKIE ROMANCE.

II.

" Wo ist der Strom?" riefer mit Thranen. " Siehst du nicht seineblauen Wellen iiber uns ? " Er sah hinauf, und der blaue Stromfloss leise iiber ihrem Haupte. NOVALIS. Heinrich von Ofter-dingen." Where is the stream? " cried he, with tears. " Seest thou not itsblue waves above us ? " He looked up, and lo ! the blue streamwas flowing gently over their heads.

WHILE these strange events were passing throughmy mind, I suddenly, as one awakes to the conscious-ness that the sea has been moaning by him for hours,or that the storm has been howling about his windowall night, became aware of the sound of runningwater near me ; and looking out of bed, I saw that alarge green marble basin, in which I was wont towash, and which stood on a low pedestal of the samematerial in a corner of my room, was overflowinglike a spring; and that a stream of clear water wasrunning over the carpet, all the length of the room,finding its outlet I knew not where. And, strangerstill, where this carpet, which I had myself designedto imitate a field of grass and daisies, bordered the


20/337

10 PHANTASTES:course of the little stream, the grass-blades anddaisies seemed to wave in a tiny breeze that followedthe water's flow; while under the rivulet they bent andswayed with every motion of the changeful current,as if they were about to dissolve with it, and, for-saking their fixed form, become fluent as the waters.My dressing-table was an old-fashioned piece of

furniture of black oak, with drawers all down thefront. These were elaborately carved in foliage,of which ivy formed the chief part. The nearerend of this table remained just as it had been,but on the further end a singular change hadcommenced. I happened to fix my eye on a littlecluster of ivy -leaves. The first of these wasevidently the work of the carver ; the next lookedcurious; the third was unmistakeable ivy; and justbeyond it a tendril of clematis had twined itselfabout the gilt handle of one of the drawers. Hear-ing next a slight motion above me, I looked up, andsaw that the branches and leaves designed upon thecurtains of my bed were slightly in motion. Notknowing what change might follow next, I thoughtit high time to get up ; and, springing from the bed,my bare feet alighted upon a cool green sward;and although I dressed in all haste, I found myself


21/337

A FAEKIE EOMANCE. 11completing my toilet under the boughs of a greattree, whose top waved in the golden stream ofthe sunrise with many interchanging lights, andwith shadows of leaf and branch gliding over leafand branch, as the cool morning wind swung itto and fro, like a sinking sea-wave.

After washing as well as I could in the clearstream, I rose and looked around me. The treeunder which I seemed to have lain all night, was oneof the advanced guard of a dense forest, towardswhich the rivulet ran. Faint traces of a footpath,much overgrown with grass and moss, and with hereand there a pimpernel even, were discernible alongthe right bank. " This," thought I, " must surely bethe path into Fairy Land, which the lady of last nightpromised I should so soon find." I crossed the rivulet,and accompanied it, keeping the footpath on its rightbank, until it led me, as I expected, into the wood.Here I left it, without any [good reason, and witha vague feeling that I ought to have followed itscourse : I took a more southerly direction.


22/337

12 PHANTASTES:

III.

Man doth usurp all space,Stares thee, in rock, bush, river, in the face.Never yet thine eyes behold a tree ;'Tis no sea thou secst in the sea,Tis but a disguised humanity.To avoid thy fellow, vain thy plan ;All that interests a man, is man.

HENRY SUTTOX.THE trees, which were far apart where I entered,giving free passage to the level rays of the sun,closed rapidly as I advanced, so that ere long theircrowded stems barred the sunlight out, forming as itwere a thick grating between me and the East. Iseemed to be advancing towards a second midnight.In the midst of the intervening twilight, however,before I entered what appeared to be the darkestportion of the forest, I saw a country maiden comingtowards me from its very depths. She did not seemto observe me, for she was apparently intent upon abunch of wild flowers which she carried in her hand.I could hardly see her face ; for, though she came


23/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 13'right towards me, she never looked up. But whenwe met, instead of passing, she turned and walkedalongside of me for a few yards, still keeping herface downwards, and busied with her flowers. Shespoke rapidly, however, all the time, in a low tone, asif talking to herself, but evidently addressing thepurport of her words to me. She seemed afraid ofbeing observed by some lurking foe. "Trust theOak," said she; "trust the Oak, and the Elm, and thegreat Beech. Take care of the Birch, for though sheis honest, she is too young not to be changeable.But shun the Ash and the Alder ; for the Ash is anogre you will know him by his thick fingers;and the Alder will smother you with her web of hair,if you let her near you at night" All this wasuttered without pause or alteration of tone. Then sheturned suddenly and left me, walking still with thesame unchanging gait. I could not conjecture whatshe meant, but satisfied myself with thinking that itwould be time enough to find out her meaning whenthere was need to make use of her

warning ; andthat the occasion would reveal the admonition. Iconcluded from the flowers that she carried, thatthe forest could not be everywhere so dense as itappeared from where I was now walking ; and I was


24/337

14 PHANTASTES:right in this conclusion. For soon I came to a moreopen part, and by and by crossed a wide grassy glade,on which were several circles of brighter green. Buteven here I was struck with the utter stillness. Nobird sang. No insect hummed. Not a livingcreature crossed my way. Yet somehow the wholeenvironment seemed only asleep, and to wear evenin sleep an air of expectation. The trees seemedall to have an expression of conscious mystery, as ifthey said to themselves, " We could, an' if we would."They had all a meaning look about them. ThenI remembered that night is the fairies' day, and themoon their sun ; and I thought Everything sleepsand dreams now : when the night comes, it will bedifferent. At the same time I, being a man anda child of the day, felt some anxiety as to how Ishould fare among the elves and other children ofthe night who wake when mortals dream, and findtheir common life in those wondrous hours thatflow noiselessly over the moveless death-like formsof men and women and children, lying strewn andparted beneath the weight of the heavy waves ofnight, which flow on and beat them down, andhold them drowned and senseless, until the ebb-tide comes, and the waves sink away, back into the


25/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 15ocean of the dark. But I took courage and wenton. Soon, however, I became again anxious, thoughfrom another cause. I had eaten nothing that day,and for an hour past had been feeling the want offood. So I grew afraid lest I should find nothing tomeet my human necessities in this strange place ;but once more I comforted myself with hope andwent on.

Before noon, I fancied I saw a thin blue smokerising amongst the stems of larger trees in front ofme ; and soon I came to an open spot of ground inwhich stood a little cottage, so built that the stemsof four great trees formed its corners, while theirbranches met and intertwined over its roof, heaping agreat cloud of leaves over it, up towards the heavens.I wondered at finding a human dwelling in thisneighbourhood ; and yet it did not look altogetherhuman, though sufficiently so to encourage me toexpect some sort of food. Seeing no door, I wentround to the other side, and there I found one, wideopen. A woman sat beside it, preparing some vege-tables for dinner. This was homely and comforting.As I came near, she looked up, and seeing me,showed no surprise, but bent her head again overher work, and'said in a low tone :


26/337

16 PHANTASTES:" Did you see my daughter ? "" I believe I did," said I. " Can you give me

something to eat, for I am very hungry."" With pleasure," she replied, in the same tone ;" hut do not say anything more, till you come intothe house, for the Ash is watching us."Having said this, she rose and led the way into the

cottage ; which, I now saw, was built of the stems ofsmall trees set closely together, and was furnishedwith rough chairs and tables, from which even thebark had not been removed. As soon as she hadshut the door and set a chair :" You have fairy blood in you," said she, looking

hard at me." How do you know that ? "" You could not have got so far into this wood

if it were not so ; and I am trying to find outsome trace of it in your countenance. I think Isee it."" What do you see ? "" Oh, never mind : I may be mistaken in that."" But how then do you come to live here ? "" Because I too have fairy-blood in me."Here I, in my turn, looked hard at her; and thought

I could perceive, notwithstanding the coarseness of


27/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 17her features, and especially the heaviness of her eye-brows, a something unusual I could hardly call itgrace, and yet it was an expression that strangelycontrasted with the form of her features. I noticedtoo that her hands were delicately formed, thoughbrown with work and exposure.

" I should be ill," she continued, " if I did not liveon the borders of the fairies' country, and now andthen eat of their food. And I see by your eyesthat you are not quite free of the same need; though,from your education and the activity of your mind,you have felt it less that I. You may be further re-moved too from the fairy race."

I remembered what the lady had said about mygrandmothers.Here she placed some bread and some milk before

me, with a kindly apology for the homeliness of thefare, with which, however, I was in no humour toquarrel. I now thought it time to try to getsome explanation of the strange words both of herdaughter and herself." What did you mean by speaking so about theAsh?"

She rose and looked out of the little window.My eyes followed her ; but as the window was too

c


28/337

18 PHANTASIES:small to allow anything to be seen from where Iwas sitting, I rose and looked over her shoulder. Ihad just time to see, across the open space, on theedge of the denser forest, a single large ash-tree,whose foliage showed bluish, amidst the truer greenof the other trees around it ; when she pushed meback with an expression of impatience and terror,and then almost shut out the light from the windowby setting up a large old book in it." In general," said she, recovering her composure,"there is no danger in the daytime, for then he issound asleep ; but there is something unusual going

on in the woods; there must be some solemnityamong the fairies to-night, for all the trees are rest-less, and although they cannot come awake, theysee and hear in their sleep."" But what danger is to be dreaded from him ? "

Instead of answering the question, she went againto the window and looked out, saying she feared thefairies would be interrupted by foul weather, for astorm was brewing in the west"And the sooner it grows dark, the sooner the

Ash will be awake," added she.I asked her how she knew that there was any

unusual excitement in the woods. She replied :


29/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 19" Besides the look of the trees, the dog there is

unhappy ; and the eyes and ears of the white rabbitare redder than usual, and he frisks about as if he ex-pected some fun. If the cat were at home, she wouldhave her back up ; for the young fairies pull the sparksout of her tail with bramble thorns, and she knowswhen they are coming. So do I, in another way."At this instant, a grey cat rushed in like a demon,

and disappeared in a hole in the wall." There, I told you ! " said the woman.""But what of the ash-tree?" said I, returningonce more to the subject. Here, however, the young

woman, whom I had met in the morning, entered.A smile passed between the mother and daughter ;and then the latter began to help her mother inlittle household duties." I should like to stay here till the evening," Isaid; "and then go on my journey, if you willallow me."" You are welcome to do as you please ; only it

might be better to stay all night, than risk thedangers of the wood then. Where are you going?""Nay, that I do not know," I replied; "but I

wish to see all that is to be seen, and therefore Ishould like to start just at sundown."

c 2


30/337

20 THANTASTES:"You are a bold youth, if you have any idea

of what you are daring; but a rash one, if youknow nothing about it; and, excuse me, you donot seem very well informed about the countryand its manners. However, no one comes here butfor some reason, either known to himself or tothose who have charge of him; so you shall dojust as you wish."

Accordingly I sat down, and feeling rather tired,and disinclined for further talk, I asked leave to lookat the old book which still screened the window.The woman brought it to me directly, but not beforetaking another look towards the forest, and thendrawing a white blind over the window. I sat downopposite to it by the table, on which I laid the greatold volume, and read. It contained many wondroustales of Fairy Land, and olden times, and the Knightsof King Arthur's table. I read on and on, till theshades of the afternoon began to deepen ; for in themidst of the forest it gloomed earlier than in theopen country. At length I came to this passage :"Here it chaunced, that upon their quest, Sir

Galahad and Sir Percivale rencountered in thedepths of a great forest. Now Sir Galahad, wasdight all in harness of silver, clear and shining;


31/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 21the which is a delight to look upon, but full hasty totarnish, and, withouten the labour of a ready squire,uneath to be kept fair and clean. And yet with-outen squire or page, Sir Galahad's armour shonelike the moon. And he rode a great white rnare,whose bases and other housings were black, butall besprent with fair lilys of silver sheen. WhereasSir Percivale bestrode a red horse, with a tawnymane and tail ; whose trappings were all to-smirchedwith mud and mire ; and his armour was wondrousrosty to behold, ne could he by any art furbishit again ; so that as the sun in his going down shonetwixt the bare trunks of the trees, full upon theknights twain, the one did seem all shining withlight, and the other all to glow with ruddy fire.Now it came about in this wise. For Sir Percivale,after his escape from the demon lady, whenasthe cross on the handle of his sword smote himto the heart, and he rove himself through thethigh, and escaped away, he came to a great wood ;and, in nowise cured of his fault, yet bemoaning thesame, the damosel of the alder-tree encountered him,right fair to see ; and with her fair words and falsecountenance she comforted him and beguiled him,until he followed her where she led him to a "


32/337

22 PHANTASIES:Here a low hurried cry from my hostess caused

me to look up from the book, and I read no more." Look there ! " she said ; " look at his fingers ! "Just as I had been reading in the book, the setting

sun was shining through a cleft in the clouds piledup in the west ; and a shadow as of a large distortedhand, with thick knobs and humps on the fingers,so that it was much wider across the fingers thanacross the undivided part of the hand, passed slowlyover the little blind, and then as slowly returned inthe opposite direction." He is almost awake, mother ; and greedier thanusual to-night."" Hush, child ; you need not make him more angrywith us than he is ; for you do not know how soonsomething may happen to oblige us to be in theforest after nightfall."" But you are in the forest," said I ; " how is itthat you are safe here ? ""He dares not come nearer than he is now,"she replied ; " for any of those four oaks, at thecorners of our cottage, would tear him to pieces:they are our friends. But he stands there andmakes awful faces at us sometimes, and stretchesout his long arms and fingers, and tries to kill us


33/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 23with fright; for, indeed, that is his favourite wayof doing. Pray, keep out of his way to-night."" Shall I be able to see these beings ? " said I.

" That I cannot tell yet, not knowing how muchof the fairy nature there is in you. But we shallsoon see whether you can discern the fairies inmy little garden, and that will be some guide to us."" Are the trees fairies too, as well as the flowers ? "I asked." They are of the same race," she replied ; " though

those you call fairies in your country are chiefly theyoung children of the flower fairies. They are veryfond of having fun with the thick people, as they callyou; for, like most children, they like fun betterthan anything else."

" Why do you have flowers so near you then ?Do they not annoy you ? "

" Oh no, they are very amusing, with their mimi-cries of grown people, and mock solemnities. Some-times they will act a whole play through before myeyes,

with perfect composure and assurance, for theyare not afraid of me. Only as soon as they havedone, they burst into peals of tiny laughter, asif it was such a joke to have been serious overanything. These I speak of, however, are the fairies


34/337

24 , PHANTASTES:of the garden. They are more staid and educatedthan those of the fields and woods. Of course theyhave near relations amongst the wild flowers, butthey patronize them, and treat them as countrycousins, who know nothing of life, and very littleof manners. Now and then, however, they arecompelled to envy the grace and simplicity of thenatural flowers."

" Do they live in the flowers? " I said." I cannot tell," she replied. " There is something

in it I do not understand. Sometimesthey disappear

altogether, even from me, though I know they arenear. They seem to die always with the flowers theyresemble, and by whose names they are called ; butwhether they return to life with the fresh flowers, or,whether it be new flowers, new fairies, I cannot tell.They have as many sorts of dispositions as men andwomen, while their moods are yet more variable:twenty different expressions will cross their little facesin half-a-minute. I often amuse myself with watchingthem, but I have never been able to make personalacquaintance with any of them. If I speak to one,he or she looks up in my face, as if I were not worthheeding, gives a little laugh, and runs away." Herethe woman started, as if suddenly recollecting herself,


35/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 25and said in a low voice to her daughter, " Make haste

go and watch him, and see in what direction he goes."I may as well mention here, that the conclusion I

arrived at from the observations I was afterwardsable to make, was, that the flowers die because thefairies go away; not that the fairies disappear becausethe flowers die. The flowers seem a sort of housesfor them, or outer bodies, which they can put on oroff Avhen they please. Just as you could form someidea of the nature of a man from the kind of househe built, if he followed his own taste, so you could,without seeing the fairies, tell what any one of themis like, by looking at the flower till you feel that youunderstand it. For just what the flower says to you,would the face and form of the fairy say ; only somuch more

plainlyas a face and human

figurecan

express more than a flower. For the house or theclothes, though like the inhabitant or the wearer,cannot be wrought into an equal power of utterance.Yet you would see a strange resemblance, almostoneness, between the flower and the fairy, which youcould not describe, but which described itself to you.Whether all the flowers have fairies, I cannot deter-mine, any more than I can be sure whether all menand women have souls.


36/337

26 PHANTASTES:The woman and I continued the conversation for a

few minutes longer. I was much interested by theinformation she gave me, and astonished at thelanguage in which she was able to convey it. Itseemed that intercourse with the fairies was no badeducation in itself. But now the daughter returnedwith the news, that the Ash had just gone away in asouth-westerly direction ; and, as my course seemedto lie eastward, she hoped I should be in no dangerof meeting him if I departed at once. I looked outof the little window, and there stood the ash-tree,to my eyes the same as before ; but I believed thatthey knew better than I did, and prepared to go.I pulled out my purse, but to my dismay there wasnothing in it. The woman with a smile begged menot to trouble myself, for money was not of theslightest use there ; and as I might meet with peoplein my journeys whom I could not recognise to befairies, it was well I had no money to offer, fornothing offended them so much." They would think," she added, " that you weremaking game of them; and that is their peculiarprivilege with regard to us." So we went togetherinto the little garden which sloped down towards alower part of the wood.


37/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 27Here, to my great pleasure, all was life and bustle.

There was still light enough from the day to see alittle ; and the pale half-moon, half-way to the zenith,was reviving every moment. The whole garden waslike a carnival, with tiny, gaily decorated forms, ingroups, assemblies, processions, pairs or trios, movingstately on, running about wildly, or sauntering hitherand thither. From the cups or bells of tall flowers,as from balconies, some looked down on the massesbelow, now bursting with laughter, now grave asowls; but even in their deepest solemnity, seemingonly to be waiting for the arrival of the next laugh.Some were launched on a little marshy stream at thebottom, in boats chosen from the heaps of last year'sleaves that lay about, curled and withered. Thesesoon sank with them; whereupon they swam ashoreand got others. Those who took fresh rose-leavesfor their boats floated the longest ; but for these theyhad to fight; for the fairy of the rose-tree com-plained bitterly that they were stealing her clothes,and defended her property bravely." You can't wear half you 've got," said some.

" Never you mind ; I don't choose you to havethem ; they are my property."

" All for the good of the community ! " said one,


38/337

28 PHANTASTES:and ran off with a great hollow leaf. But the rose-fairy sprang after him (what a beauty she was!only too like a drawing-room young lady), knockedhim heels-over-head as he ran, and recovered hergreat red leaf. But in the meantime twenty hadhurried off in different directions with others just asgood; and the little creature sat down and cried, andthen, in a pet, sent a perfect pink snow-storm ofpetals from her tree, leaping from branch to branch,and stamping and shaking and pulling. At last, afteranother good cry, she chose the biggest she couldfind, and ran away laughing, to launch her boatamongst the rest.But my attention was first and chiefly attracted by

a group of fairies near the cottage, who were talkingtogether around what seemed a last dying primrose.They talked singing, and their talk made a song,something like this :

" Sister Snowdrop diedBefore we were born."

" She came like a brideIn a snowy morn."

"What's a bride?"" What is snow ? "

" Never tried."" Do not know."


39/337

A FAEKIE KOMANCE. 29" Who told you about her ? "" Little Primrose thereCannot do without her."

"Oh, so sweetly fair ! "" Never fear,

She will come,Primrose dear."

" Is she dumb ? "

" She '11 come by and by.""You will never see her."" She went home to die,

Till the new year."" Snowdrop ! " " 'Tis no good

To invite her.""Primrose is very rude,""I will bite her."

"Oh, you naughty Pocket !Look, she drops her head."

" She deserved it, Eocket,And she was nearly dead."" To your hammock off with you ! "" And swing alone."" No one will laugh with you."

" No not one."" Now let us moan."

" And cover her o'er."" Primrose is gone."" All but the flower."

" Here is a leaf."" Lay her upon it."" Follow in grief."" Pocket has done it."


40/337

30 PHANTASTES:" Deeper, poor creature !

Winter may come."" He cannot reach herThat is a hum."

" She is buried, the beauty ! ""Now she is done."" That was the duty."" Now for the fan."

And with a wild laugh they sprang away, most ofthem towards the cottage. During the latter part ofthe song-talk, they had formed themselves into afuneral procession, two of them bearing poor Prim-rose, whose death Pocket had hastened by biting herstalk, upon one of her own great leaves. They boreher solemnly along some distance, and then buriedher under a tree. Although I say her, I saw nothingbut the withered primrose-flower on its long stalk.Pocket, who had been expelled from the company bycommon consent, went sulkily away towards herhammock, for she was the fairy of the calceolaria,and looked rather wicked. When she reached itsstem, she stopped and looked round. I could nothelp speaking to her, for I stood near her. I said :" Pocket, how could you be so naughty ? "" I am never naughty," she said, half-crossly, half-defiantly ; " only if you come near my hammock,I will bite you, and then you will go away."


41/337

A EAEEIE KOMANCE. 31" Why did you bite poor Primrose ? ""Because she said we should never see Snow-

drop ; as if we were not good enough to look ather, and she was, the proud thing ! served herright!"

" Oh, Pocket, Pocket," said I ; but by this time theparty which had gone towards the house, rushed outagain, shouting and screaming with laughter. Halfof them were on the cat's back, and half held on byher fur and tail, or ran beside her ; till, more comingto their help, the furious cat was held fast ; and theyproceeded to pick the sparks out of her with thornsand pins, which they handled like harpoons. Indeed,there were more instruments at work about her thanthere could have been sparks in her. One littlefellow who held on hard by the tip of the tail,with his feet planted on the ground at an angleof forty-five degrees, helping to keep her fast,administered a continuous flow of admonitions toPussy." Now, Pussy, be patient. You know quite well itis all for your good. You cannot be comfortablewith all those sparks in you; and, indeed, I amcharitably disposed to believe" (here he becamevery pompous) " that they are the cause of all your


42/337

32 PHANTASTES:bad temper ; so we must have them all out, everyone ; else we shall be reduced to the painfulnecessity of cutting your claws, and pulling outyour eye-teeth. Quiet ! Pussy, quiet ! "But with a perfect hurricane of feline curses,

the poor animal broke loose, and dashed acrossthe garden and through the hedge, faster than eventhe fairies could follow. " Never mind, never mind,we shall find her again; and by that time shewill have laid in a fresh stock of sparks. Hooray ! "And off they set, after some new mischief.But I will not linger to enlarge on the amus-

ing displays of these frolicsome creatures. Theirmanners and habits are now so well known to theworld, having been so often described by eye-witnesses, that it would be only indulging self-conceit, to add my account in full to the rest. Icannot help wishing, however, that my readers couldsee them for themselves. Especially do I desire thatthey should see the fairy of the daisy; a little,chubby, round-eyed child, with such innocent trustin his look I Even the most mischievous of thefairies would not tease him, although he did notbelong to their set at all, but was quite a littlecountry bumpkin. He wandered about alone, and


43/337

A FAERIE EOMANCE. 33looked at everything, with his hands in his littlepockets, and a white nightcap on, the darling! Hewas not so beautiful as many other wild flowers Isaw afterwards, but so dear and loving in his looksand little confident ways.


44/337

34 PHANTASTES:

IV.

When bale is att hyest, boote is nyest.Ballad of Sir Aldingar.

BY this time, my hostess was quite anxious that Ishould be gone. So, with warm thanks for theirhospitality, I took my leave, and went my waythrough the little garden towards the forest Someof the garden flowers had wandered into the wood,and were growing here and there along the path,but the trees soon became too thick and shadowyfor them. I particularly noticed some tall lilies,which grew on both sides of the way, with large,dazzlingly white flowers, set off by the universalgreen. It was now dark enough for me to see thatevery flower was shining with a light of its own.Indeed it was by this light that I saw them, aninternal, peculiar light, proceeding from each, andnot reflected from a common source of light as inthe day-time. This light sufficed only for the plantitself, and was not strong enough to cast any but


45/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 35the faintest shadows around it, or to illuminate anyof the neighbouring objects with other than thefaintest tinge of its own individual hue. From thelilies above mentioned, from the campanulas, fromthe foxgloves, and every bell-shaped flower, curiouslittle figures shot up their heads, peeped at me, anddrew back. They seemed to inhabit them, as snailstheir shells; but I was sure some of them wereintruders, and belonged to the gnomes or goblin-fairies, who inhabit the ground and earthy creepingplants. From the cups of Arum lilies, creatureswith great heads and grotesque faces shot up likeJack-in-the-box, and made grimaces at me ; or roseslowly and slily over the edge of the cup, andspouted water at me, slipping suddenly back, likethose little soldier-crabs that inhabit the shellsof sea-snails. Passing a row of tall thistles, Isaw them crowded with little faces, which peepedevery one from behind its flower, and drew backas quickly ; and I heard them saying to each other,evidently intending me to hear, but the speakeralways hiding behind his tuft, when I looked in hisdirection, " Look at him ! Look at him ! He hasbegun a story without a beginning, and it will neverhave any end. He ! he ! he ! Look at him ! "

D 2


46/337

36 PHANTASTES:But as I went further into the wood, these sightsO

and sounds became fewer, giving way to othersof a different character. A little forest of wildhyacinths was alive with exquisite creatures, whostood nearly motionless, with drooping necks, holdingeach by the stem of her flower, and swaying gentlywith it, whenever a low breath of wind swungthe crowded floral belfry. In like manner, thoughdiffering of course in form and meaning, stood agroup of harebells, like little angels waiting, ready,.till they were wanted to go on some yet unknownmessage. In darker nooks, by the mossy roots ofthe trees, or in little tufts of grass, each dwellingin a globe of its own green light, weaving a net-work of grass and its shadows, glowed the glow-worms. They were just like the glowworms of ourown land, for they are fairies everywhere; wormsin the day, and glowworms at night, when theirown can appear, and they can be themselves toothers as well as themselves. But they had theirenemies here. For I saw great strong-armed beetles,hurrying about with most unwieldy haste, awkwardas elephant-calves, looking apparently for glow-worms ; for the moment a beetle espied one, throughwhat to it was a forest of grass, or an underwood


47/337

A FAERIE EOMANCE. 37of moss, it pounced upon it, and bore it away, inspite of its feeble resistance. Wondering what theirobject could be, I watched one of the beetles, andthen I discovered a thing I could not account for. Butit is no use trying to account for things in fairyland; and one who travels there soon learns toforget the very idea of doing so, and takes every-thing as it comes; like a child, who, being in achronic condition of wonder, is surprised at nothing.What I saw was this. Everywhere, here and thereover the ground, lay little, dark-looking lumps ofsomething more like earth than anything else, andabout the size of a chestnut. The beetles hunted incouples for these; and having found one, one ofthem stayed to watch it, while the other hurried tofind a glowworm. By signals, I presume, betweenthem, the latter soon found his companion again ;they then took the glowworm and held its luminoustail to the dark earthy pallet; \vhen lo! it shot upinto the air like a sky-rocket, seldom however reach-ing the height of the highest tree. Just like arocket too, it burst in the air, and fell in a shower ofthe most gorgeously coloured sparks of every varietyof hue; golden and red, and purple and green, and blueand rosy fires crossed and intercrossed each other,


48/337

38 PHANTASTES:beneath the shadowy heads, and between thecolumnar stems of the forest trees. They neverused the same glowworm twice, I observed; butlet him go, apparently uninjured by the use theyhad made of him.

In other parts, the whole of the immediatelysurrounding foliage was illuminated by the inter-woven dances in the air of splendidly coloured fire-flies, which sped hither and thither, turned, twisted,crossed, and re-crossed, entwining every complexityof intervolved motion. Here and there, whole mightytrees glowed with an emitted phosphorescent light.You could trace the very course of the great roots inthe earth by the faint light that came through ; andevery twig, and every vein on every leaf was astreak of pale fire.All this time, as I went on through the wood,I was haunted with the feeling that other shapes,more like my own in size and mien, were movingabout at a little distance on all sides of me.But as yet I could discern none of them, althoughthe moon was high enough to send a great manyof her rays down between the trees, and theserays were unusually bright, and sight-giving, not-withstanding she was only a half-moon. I con-


49/337

A FAEKIE KOMANCE. 39stantly Imagined, however, that forms were visiblein all directions except that to which my gazewas turned; and that they only became invisible,or resolved themselves into other woodland shapes,the moment my looks were directed towards them.However this may have been, except for this feelingof presence, the woods seemed utterly bare of any-thing like human companionship, although myglance often fell on some object which I fancied tobe a human form ; for I soon found that I was quitedeceived; as, the moment I fixed my regard onit, it showed plainly that it was a bush, or a tree,or a rock.

Soon a vague sense of discomfort possessed me.With variations of relief, this gradually increased ;as if some evil thing were wandering about in myneighbourhood, sometimes nearer and sometimesfurther off, but still approaching. The feeling con-tinued and deepened, until all my pleasure in theshows of various kinds that everywhere betokenedthe presence of the merry fairies, vanished by degrees,and left me full of anxiety and fear, which I wasunable to associate with any definite object what-ever. At length the thought crossed my mind withhorror : " Can it be possible that the Ash is looking


50/337

40 PHANTASTES:for me? or that, in his nightly wanderings, hispath is gradually verging towards mine?" I com-forted myself, however, by remembering that hehad started quite in another direction ; one thatwould lead him, if he kept it, far apart from me ;especially as, for the last two or three hours, I hadbeen diligently journeying eastward. I kept onmy way, therefore, striving by direct effort of thewill against the encroaching fear; and to thisend occupying my mind, as much as I could, withother thoughts. I was so far successful that,although I was conscious, if I yielded for a moment,I should be almost overwhelmed with horror, I wasyet able to walk right on for an hour or more.What I feared I could not tell. Indeed, I was leftin a state of the vaguest uncertainty as regardedthe nature of my enemy, and knew not the modeor object of his attacks; for, somehow or other,none of my questions had succeeded in drawinga definite answer from the dame in the cottage.How then to defend myself I knew not ; nor evenby what sign I might with certainty recognise thepresence of my foe ; for as yet this vague thoughpowerful fear was all the indication of danger Ihad. To add to my distress, the clouds in the


51/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 41west had risen nearly to the top of the skies, andthey and the moon were travelling slowly towardseach other. Indeed, some of their advanced guardhad already met her, and she had begun to wadethrough a filmy vapour that gradually deepened.At length she was for a moment almost entirely ob-scured. When she shone out again, with a brilliancyincreased by the contrast, I saw plainly on the pathbefore me from around which at this spot the treesreceded, leaving a small space of green sward theshadow of a large hand, with knotty joints andprotuberances here and there. Especially I re-marked, even in the midst of my fear, the bulbouspoints of the fingers. I looked hurriedly all round,but could see nothing from which such a shadowshould fall. Now, however, that I had a direction,however undetermined, in which to project myapprehension, the very sense of danger and needof action overcame that stifling which is the worstproperty of fear. I reflected in a moment, thatif this were indeed a shadow, it was useless to lookfor the object that cast it in any other direction thanbetween the shadow and the moon. I looked, andpeered, and intensified my vision, all to no purpose. Icould see nothing of that kind, not even an ash-tree in


52/337

42 PHANTASTES:the neighbourhood. Still the shadow remained ;not steady, but moving to and fro ; and once I sawthe fingers close, and grind themselves close, likethe claws of a wild animal, as if in uncontrollablelonging for some anticipated prey. There seemedbut one mode left of discovering the substance ofthis shadow. I went forward boldly, though withan inward shudder which I would not heed, to thespot where the shadow lay, threw myself on theground, laid my head within the form of the hand,and turned my eyes towards the moon. Goodheavens ! what did I see ? I wonder that ever Iarose, and that the very shadow of the hand didnot hold me where I lay until fear had frozen mybrain. I saw the strangest figure ; vague, shadowy,almost transparent, in the central parts, and graduallydeepening in substance towards the outside, untilit ended in extremities capable of casting such ashadow as fell from the hand through the awfulfingers of which I now saw the moon. The handwas uplifted in the attitude of a paw about tostrike its prey. But the face, which throbbed withfluctuating and pulsatory visibility not from changesin the light it reflected, but from changes in its ownconditions of reflecting power, the alterations being


53/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 43from within, not from without it was horrible. Ido not know how to describe it. It caused a newsensation. Just as one cannot translate a horribleodour, or a ghastly pain, or a fearful sound, intowords, so I cannot describe this new form of awfulhideousness. I can only try to describe somethingthat is not it, but seems somewhat parallel to it;or at least is suggested by it. It reminded me of\vhat I had heard of vampires ; for the face resembledthat of a corpse more than anything else I canthink of; especially when I can conceive such aface in motion, but not suggesting any life as thesource of the motion. The features were ratherhandsome than otherwise, except the mouth, whichhad scarcely a curve in it. The lips were of equalthickness; but the thickness was not at all remark-able, even although they looked slightly swollen.They seemed fixedly open, but were not wide apart.Of course I did not remark these lineaments atthe time : I was too horrified for that. I notedthem afterwards, when the form returned on myinward sight with a vividness too intense to admitof my doubting the accuracy of the reflex. Butthe most awful of the features were the eyes. Thesewere alive, yet not with life. They seemed lighted


54/337

44 PHANTASTES:up with an infinite greed. A gnawing voracity,which devoured the devourer, seemed to be the in-dwelling and propelling power of the whole ghastlyapparition. I lay for a few moments simply im-bruted with terror; when another cloud, obscuringthe moon, delivered me from the immediately paralys-ing effects of the presence to the vision of the objectof horror, while it added the force of imaginationto the power of fear within me ; inasmuch as, know-ing far worse cause for apprehension than before,I remained equally ignorant from what I had todefend myself, or how to take any precautions : hemight be upon me in the darkness any moment.I sprang to my feet, and sped I knew not whither,only away from the spectre. I thought no longerof the path, and often narrowly escaped dashing my-self against a tree, in my headlong flight of fear.

Great drops of rain began to patter on the leaves.Thunder began to mutter, then growl in the distance.I ran on. The rain fell heavier. At length the thickleaves could hold it up no longer ; and, like a secondfirmament, they poured their torrents on the earth.I was soon drenched, but that was nothing. I cameto a small swollen stream that rushed through thewoods. I had a vague hope that if I crossed this


55/337

A FAERIE EOMAXC::. 45stream, I should be in safety from my pursuer ; but Isoon found that my hope was as false as it was vague.I dashed across the stream, ascended a rising ground,and reached a more open space, where stood onlygreat trees. Through them I directed my way,holding eastward as nearly as I could guess, but notat all certain that I was not moving in an oppositedirection. My mind was just reviving a little from itsextreme terror, when, suddenly, a flash of lightning, orrather a cataract of successive flashes, behind me,seemed to throw on the ground in front of me, butfar more faintly than before, from the extent of thesource of the light, the shadow of the same horriblehand. I sprang forward, stung to yet wilder speed ;but had not run many steps before my foot slipped,and, vainly attempting to recover myself, I fell atthe foot of one of the large trees. Half-stunned,I yet raised myself, and almost involuntarily lookedback. All I saw was the hand within three feet ofmy face. But, at the same moment, I felt two largesoft arms thrown round me from behind ; and a voicelike a woman's said : " Do not fear the goblin ; hedares not hurt you now." With that, the hand wassuddenly withdrawn as from a fire, and disappearedin the darkness and the rain. Overcome with the


56/337

46 PHANTASTES:mingling of terror and joy, I lay for some timealmost insensible. The first thing I remember is thesound of a voice above me, full and low, andstrangely reminding me of the sound of a gentlewind amidst the leaves of a great tree. It murmuredover and over again : " I may love him, I may lovehim ; for he is a man, and I am only a beech-tree."I found I was seated on the ground, leaning againsta human form, and supported still by the armsaround me, which I knew to be those of a woman whomust be rather above the human size, and largelyproportioned. I turned my head, but without movingotherwise, for I feared lest the arms should untwinethemselves ; and clear, somewhat mournful eyes metmine. At least that is how they impressed me ; butI could see very little of colour or outline as we satin the dark and rainy shadow of the tree. The faceseemed very lovely, and solemn from its stillness;with the aspect of one who is quite content, butwaiting for something. I saw my conjecture fromher arms was correct: she was above the humanscale throughout, but not greatly." Why do you call yourself a beech-tree ?" I said." Because I am one," she replied, in the same low,musical, murmuring voice.


57/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 47" You are a woman," I returned." Do you think so? Am I very like a woman then?'*" You are a very beautiful woman. Is it possible

you should not know it ? n" I am very glad you think so. I fancy I feel likea woman sometimes. I do so to-night and alwayswhen the rain drips from my hair. For there is anold prophecy in our woods that one day we shallall be men and women like you. Do you knowanything about it in your region ? Shall I be veryhappy when I am a woman? I fear not; for it isalways in nights like these that I feel like one. ButI long to be a woman for all that."

I had let her talk on, for her voice was like asolution of all musical sounds. I now told her thatI could hardly say whether women were happy ornot. I knew one who had not been happy; and formy part, I had often longed for Fairyland, as she nowlonged for the world of men. But then neither ofus had lived long, and -perhaps people grew happieras they grew older. Only I doubted it. I could nothelp sighing. She felt the sigh, for her arms werestill round me. She asked me how old I was.

" Twenty-one," said I." Why, you baby ! " said she ; and kissed me with


58/337

48 PHANTASTES:the sweetest kiss of winds and odours. There was acool faithfulness in the kiss that revived my heartwonderfully. I felt that I feared the dreadful Ashno more." What did the horrible Ash want with me? " I said." I am not quite sure, but I think he wants to bury

you at the foot of his tree. But he shall not touchyou, my child."" Are all the ash-trees as dreadful as he ? "

te Oh, no. They are all disagreeable selfish crea-tures (what horrid men they will make, if it betrue !) but this one has a hole in his heart that nobodyknows of but one or two ; and he is always trying tofill it up, but he cannot. That must be what hewanted you for. I wonder if he will ever be a man.If- he is, I hope they will kill him."" How kind of you to save me from him ! "" I will take care that he shall not come near youagain. But there are some in the wood more likeme, from whom, alas ! I cannot protect you. Onlyif you see any of them very beautiful, try to walkround them.""What then?""I cannot tell you more. But now I must tie

some of my hair about you, and then the Ash will


59/337

A FAERIE KOMANCE. 49not touch you. Here, cut some off. You- men havestrange cutting things about you."

She shook her long hair loose over me, nevermoving her arms." I cannot cut your beautiful hair. It would be ashame."" Not cut my hair ! It will have grown long

enough before any is wanted again in this wildforest. Perhaps it may never be of any use againnot till I am a woman." And she sighed.As gently as I could, I cut with a knife a long

tress of flowing, dark hair, she hanging her beautifulhead over me. When I had finished, she shudderedand breathed deep, as one does when an acute pain,steadfastly endured without sign of suffering, is atlength relaxed. She then took the hair and tied itround me, singing a strange sweet song, which Icould not understand, but which left in me a feelingolike this

" I saw thee ne'er before;I see thee never more;But love, and help, and pain, beautiful one,Have made thee mine, till all my years are done."

I cannot put more of it into words. She closed herarms about me again, and went on singing. The

E


60/337

50 PHANTASTES:rain in the leaves, and a light wind that had arisen,kept her song company. I was wrapt in a tranceof still delight. It told me the secret of the woods,and the flowers, and the birds. At one time I felt asif I was wandering in childhood through sunny springforests, over carpets of primroses, anemones, and littlewhite starry things I had almost said, creatures, andfinding new wonderful flowers at every turn. Atanother, I lay half dreaming in the hot summer noon,with a book of old tales beside me, beneath a greatbeech ; or, in autumn, grew sad because I trod on theleaves that had sheltered me, and received their lastblessing in the sweet odours of decay ; or, in a winterevening, frozen-still, looked up, as I went home to awarm fire-side, through the netted boughs and twigsto the cold, snowy moon, with her opal zone aroundher. At last I had fallen asleep ; for I know nothingmore that passed, till I found myself lying under asuperb beech-tree, in the clear light of the morning,just before sunrise. Around me was a girdle of freshbeech-leaves. Alas ! I brought nothing with me out offairy-land, but memories memories. The greatboughs of the beech hung drooping around me.At my head rose its smooth stem, with its greatsweeps of curving surface that swelled like uii-


61/337

A FAERIE EOMANCE. 51developed limbs. The leaves and branches above kepton the song which had sung me asleep ; only now, tomy mind, it sounded like a farewell and a speedwell. Isat a long time, unwilling to go ; but my unfinishedstory urged me on. I must act and wander. With thesun well risen, I rose/and put my arms as far as theywould reach around the beech-tree, and kissed it, andsaid goodbye. A trembling went through the leaves;a few of the last drops of the night's rain fell fromoff them, at my feet ; and as I walked slowly away,I seemed to hear in a whisper once more the words :" I may love him, I may love him ; for he is a man,and I am only a beech-tree."

E 2


62/337

52 PHANTASTES:

V.

And she was smooth and full, as if one gushOf life had washed her, or as if a sleepLay on her eyelid, easier to sweepThan bee from daisy.

BEDDOES' Pygmalion.

Sche was as whyt as lylye yn May,Or snow that sneweth yn wynterys day.Romance of Sir Launfal.

I WALKED on, in the fresh morning air, as if new-born.The only thing that damped my pleasure, was a cloudof something between sorrow and delight, that crossedmy mind with the frequently returning thought ofmy last night's hostess. " But then," thought I, " ifshe is sorry, I could not help it ; and she has all thepleasures she ever had. Such a day as this, is surelya joy to her, as much at least as to me. And her lifewill perhaps be the richer, for holding now within itthe memory of what came, but could not stay. Andif ever she is a woman, who knows but we maymeet somewhere ? there is plenty of room for meeting


63/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 53in the universe." Comforting myself thus, yet witha vague compunction, as if I ought not to have lefther, I went on. There was little to distinguish thewoods to-day from those of my own land ; exceptthat all the wild things, rabbits, birds, squirrels,mice, and the numberless other inhabitants, werevery tame ; that is, they did not run away from me,but gazed at me as I passed, frequently comingnearer, as if to examine me more closely. Whetherthis came from utter ignorance, or from familiaritywith the human appearance of beings who neverhurt them, I could not tell. As I stood once, look-ing up to the splendid flower of a parasite, whichhung from the branch of a tree over my head, alarge white rabbit cantered slowly up, put one of itslittle feet on one of mine, and looked up

at me withits red eyes, just as I had been looking up at theflower above me. I stooped and stroked it; butwhen I attempted to lift it, it banged the groundwith its hind feet, and scampered off at a greatrate, turning, however, to look at me, several timesbefore I lost sight of it. Now and then, too, a dimhuman figure would appear and disappear, at somedistance, amongst the trees, moving like a sleep-walker. But no one ever came near me.


64/337

54 PHANTASTES:This day I found plenty of food in the forest

strange nuts and fruits I had never seen before. Ihesitated to eat them ; but argued that, if I couldlive on the air of fairy-land, I could live on its foodalso. I found my reasoning correct, and the resultwas better than I had hoped ; for it not only satisfiedmy hunger, but operated in such a way upon mysenses, that I was brought into far more completerelationship with the things around me. The humanforms appeared much more dense and defined ; moretangibly visible, if I may say so. I seemed to knowbetter which direction to choose when any doubtarose. I began to feel in some degree what thebirds meant in their songs, though I could notexpress it in words, any more than you can somelandscapes. At times, to my surprise, I found my-self listening attentively, and as if it were no unusualthing with me, to a conversation between two squir-rels or monkeys. The subjects were not very inte-resting, except as associated with the individual lifeand necessities of the little creatures : where thebest nuts were to be found in the neighbourhood,and who could crack them best, or who had mostlaid up for the winter, and such like; only theynever said where the store was. There was no great


65/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 55difference in kind between their talk and our ordinaryhuman conversation. Some of the creatures I neverheard speak at all, and believe they never do so, exceptunder the impulse ofsome great excitement. The micetalked ; but the hedgehogs seemed very phlegmatic ;and though I met a couple of moles above groundseveral times, they never said a word to each otherin my hearing. There were no wild beasts in theforest ; at least, I did not see one larger than a wildcat. There were plenty of snakes, however, and Ido not think they were all harmless ; but none everbit me.

Soon after mid-day, I arrived at a bare rocky hill,of no great size, but very steep ; and, having no treesscarcely even a bush upon it, entirely exposed to theheat of the sun. Over this my way seemed to lie,and I immediately began the ascent. On reachingthe top, hot and weary, I looked around me, and sawthat the forest still stretched as far as the sight couldreach on every side of me. I observed that the trees,in the direction which I was about to descend, did notcome so near the foot of the hill as on the other side,and was especially regretting the unexpected postpone-ment of shelter, because this side of the hill seemedmore difficult to descend than the other had been to


66/337

56 PHANTASTES :climb, when my eye caught the appearance of anatural path, winding dbwn through broken rocksand along the course of a tiny stream, which I hopedwould lead me more easily to the foot I tried it,and found the descent not at all laborious ; never-theless, when I reached the bottom, I was very tired,and exhausted with the heat. But just where the pathseemed to end, rose a great rock, quite overgrownwith shrubs and creeping plants, some of them infull and splendid blossom : these almost concealed anopening in the rock, into which the path appeared tolead. I entered, thirsting for the shade which itpromised. What was my delight to find a rockycell, all the angles rounded away with rich moss, andevery ledge and projection crowded with lovelyferns, the variety of whose forms, and groupings,and shades wrought in me like a poem ; for such aharmony could not exist, except they all consentedto some one end ! A little well of the clearest waterfilled a mossy hollow in one corner. I drank, andfelt as if I knew what the elixir of life must be;then threw myself on a mossy mound that lay like acouch along the inner end. Here I lay in a deliciousreverie for some time ; during which all lovely forms,and colours, and sounds seemed to use my brain as a


67/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 57common hall, where they could come and go, unbid-den and unexcused. I had never imagined that suchcapacity for simple happiness lay in me, as was now-awakened by this assembly of forms and spiritualsensations, which yet were far too vague to admit ofbeing translated into any shape common to my ownand another mind. I had lain for an hour, I shouldsuppose, though it may have been far longer, when,the harmonious tumult in my mind having somewhatrelaxed, I became aware that my eyes were fixed ona strange, time-worn bas-relief on the rock oppositeto me. This, after some pondering, I concluded torepresent Pygmalion, as he awaited the quickeningof his statue. The sculptor sat more rigid than thefigure to which his eyes were turned. That seemedabout to step from its pedestal and embrace the man,who waited rather than expected.

" A lovely story," I said to myself. " This cave,now, with the bushes cut away from the entrance tolet the light in, might be such a place as he wouldchoose, withdrawn from the notice of men, to set uphis block of marble, and mould into a visible bodythe thought already clothed with form in the unseenhall of the sculptor's brain. And, indeed, if I mis-take not," I said, starting up, as a sudden ray of light


68/337

58 PHANTASTES:arrived at that moment through a crevice in the roof,and lighted up a small portion of the rock, bare ofvegetation, " this very rock is marble, white enoughand delicate enough for any statue, even if destinedto become an ideal woman in the arms of thesculptor."

I took my knife and removed the moss from a partof the block on which I had been lying ; when, tomy surprise, I found it more like alabaster than ordi-nary marble, and soft to the edge of the knife. Infact, it was alabaster. By an inexplicable, thoughby no means unusual kind of impulse, I went onremoving the moss from the surface of the stone ; andsoon saw that it was polished, or at least smooth,throughout. I continued my labour; and after clear-ing a space of about a couple of square feet, I ob-served what caused me to prosecute the work withmore interest and care than before. For the ray ofsunlight had now reached the spot I had cleared, andunder its lustre the alabaster revealed its usual slighttransparency when polished, except where my knifehad scratched the surface ; and I observed that thetransparency seemed to have a definite limit, and toend upon an opaque body like the more solid, whitemarble. I was careful to scratch no more. And first,


69/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 59a vague anticipation gave "way to a startling sense ofpossibility ; then, as I proceeded, one revelation afteranother produced the entrancing conviction, thatunder the crust of alabaster, lay a dimly visible formin marble, but whether of man or woman I could notyet tell. I worked on as rapidly as the necessarycare would permit ; and when I had uncovered thewhole mass, and, rising from my knees, had retreateda little way, so that the effect of the whole might fallon me, I saw before me with sufficient plainnessthough at the same time with considerable indistinct-ness, arising from the limited amount of light theplace admitted, as well as from the nature of theobject itself a block of pure alabaster enclosing theform, apparently in marble, of a reposing woman.She lay on one side, with her hand under her cheek,and her face towards me ; but her hair had fallenpartly over her face, so that I could not see the ex-pression of the whole. What I did see, appeared tome perfectly lovely ; more near the face that had beenborn with me in my soul, than anything I had seenbefore in nature or art. The actual outlines of therest of the form were so indistinct, that the more thansemi-opacity of the alabaster seemed insufficient toaccount for the fact ; and I conjectured that a lightrobe added its obscurity. Numberless histories


70/337

60 PHAXTASTES:passed through my mind of change of substance fromenchantment and other causes, and of imprisonmentssuch as this before me. I thought of the Prince ofthe Enchanted City, half marble and half a livingman ; of Ariel ; of Niobe ; of the Sleeping Beautyin the Wood; of the bleeding trees; and manyother histories. Even my adventure of the pre-ceding evening with the lady of the beech-treecontributed to arouse the wild hope, that by somemeans life might be given to this form also, and that,breaking from her alabaster tomb, she might glorifymy eyes with her presence. " For," I argued, " whocan tell but this cave may be the home of Marble, andthis, essential Marble that spirit of marble which,present throughout, makes it capable of beingmouldedinto any form? Then if she should awake! Buthow to awake her? A kiss awoke the SleepingBeauty : a kiss cannot reach her through the incrust-ing alabaster." I kneeled, however, and kissed thepale coffin; but she slept on. I bethought meof Orpheus, and the following stones; that treesshould follow his music seemed nothing surprisingnow. Might not a song awake this form, that theglory of motion might for a time displace the loveli-ness of rest? Sweet sounds can go where kissesmay not enter. I sat and thought.


71/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 61Now, although always delighting in music, I had

never been gifted with the power of song, until Ientered the fairy-forest. I had a voice, and I had atrue sense of sound ; but when I tried to sing, theone would not content the other, and so I remainedsilent. This morning, however, I had found myself,ere I was aware, rejoicing in # song ; but whether itwas before or after I had eaten of the fruits of theforest, I could not satisfy myself. I concluded itwas after, however; and that the increased impulseto sing I now felt, was in part owing to having drunkof the little well, which shone like a brilliant eye in acorner of the cave. I sat down on the ground bythe " antenatal tomb," leaned upon it with my facetowards the head of the figure within, and sang thewords and tones coming together, and inseparablyconnected, as if word and tone formed one thing ; or,as if each word could be uttered only in that tone,and was incapable of distinction from it, except inidea, by an acute analysis. I sang something likethis : but the words are only a dull representation ofa state whose very elevation precluded the possibilityof remembrance ; and in which I presume the wordsreally employed were as far above these, as that statetranscended this wherein I recal it :


72/337

PILLSTASTISC

Mat of

thrown ;

As I sang, I looked earnestly at the face sovaguely revealed before me. I fancied, yet believedit to be bat fancy, thai through, the dim veil ofthe aZahorter, I anr a motion of the head as ifcaused by a .sinking sigh. I gazed more r-amtatlj,and concluded that it was but fancy. NeverthelessI could not help gfngfng again :

And can give thee op, I ween ;

Or. if neefiarjwtowiTo


73/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 63" Sweeter dreams are in the forest ;Round thee storms would never rave ;And when need of rest is sorest,Glide thou then into thy cave.

" Or, if still thou choosest ratherMarble, be its spell on me ;Let thy slumber round me gather,Let another dream with thee ! "

Again I paused, and gazed through the stonyshroud, as if, by very force of penetrative sight, Iwould clear every lineament of the lovely face\And now I thought the hand that had lain underthe cheek, had slipped a little downward. Butthen I could not be sure that I had at first observedits position accurately. So I sang again; for thelonging had grown into a passionate need of seeingher alive :

" Or art thou Death, O woman ? for since IHave set me singing by thy side,

Life hath forsook the upper sky,And all the outer world hath died."Yea, I am dead ; for thou hast drawn

My life all downward unto thee.Dead moon of love ! let twilight dawn;Awake ! and let the darkness flee.

" Cold lady of the lovely stone !Awake ! or I shall perish here ;And thou be never more alone,My form and I for ages near.


74/337

64 PHANTASTES :" But words are vain ; reject them all

They utter but a feeble part :Hear thou the depths from which they call,The voiceless longing of my heart."

> There arose a slightly crashing sound. Like asudden apparition that comes and is gone, a whiteform, veiled in a light rohe of whiteness, burstupwards from the stone, stood, glided forth, andgleamed away towards the woods. For I followedtp the mouth of the cave, as soon as the amazementand concentration of delight permitted the nervesof motion again to act; and saw the white formamidst the trees, as it crossed a little glade on theedge of the forest where the sunlight fell full, seemingto gather with intenser radiance on the one objectthat floated rather than flitted through its lake ofbeams. I gazed after her in a kind of despair;found, freed, lost ! It seemed useless to follow, yetfollow I must. I marked the direction she took;and without once looking round to the forsakencave, I hastened towards the forest


75/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 65

VI.

Aoh, hiite sich doch ein Mensch, wenn seine erfullten Wiinscheauf ihn herad regnen, und er so iiber alle Maasse frohlich ist !FOUQUE, Der Zauberring.

Ah, let a man beware, when his wishes, fulfilled, rain downupon him, and his happiness is unbounded.

Thy red lips, like worms,Travel over my cheek. MOTHERWELL (?)

BUT as I crossed the space between the foot ofthe hill and the forest, a vision of another kinddelayed my steps. Through an opening to thewestward flowed, like a stream, the rays of thesetting sun, and overflowed with a ruddy splendourthe open place where I was. And riding as itwere down this stream towards me, came a horse-man in what appeared red armour. From frontletto tail, the horse likewise shone red in the sun-set.I felt as if I must have seen the knight before;but as he drew riear, I could recall no feature ofhis countenance. Ere he came up to me, how-ever, I remembered the legend of Sir Percival

p


76/337

66 PHANTASTES :in the rusty armour, which I had left unfinishedin the old book in the cottage : it was of SirPercival that he reminded me. And no wonder;for when he came close up to me, I saw that, fromcrest to heel, the whole surface of his armourwas covered with a light rust. The golden spursshone, but the iron greaves glowed in the sun-light The morning star, which hung from hiswrist, glittered and glowed with its silver andbronze. His whole appearance was terrible; buthis face did not answer to this appearance. It wassad, even to gloominess ; and something of shameseemed to cover it. Yet it was noble and hi^h,O ~though thus beclouded ; and the form looked lofty,although the head drooped, and the whole frame wasbowed as with an inward grief. The horse seemedto share in his master's dejection, and walked spirit-less and slow. I noticed, too, that the white plumeon his helmet was discoloured and drooping. '' Hehas fallen in a joust with spears," I said to myself ;'' yet it becomes not a noble knight to be conqueredin spirit because his body hath fallen." He appearednot to observe me, for he was riding past withoutlooking up, and started into a warlike attitude themoment the first sound of my voice reached him.


77/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 67Then a flush, as of shame, covered all of his facethat the lifted beaver disclosed. He returned mygreeting with distant courtesy, and passed on. Butsuddenly, he reined up, sat a moment still, and thenturning his horse, rode back to where I stood lookingafter him." I am ashamed," he said, " to appear a knight,and in such a guise ; but it behoves me to tell you totake warning from me, lest the same evil, in his kind,overtake the singer that has befallen the knight.Hast thou ever read the story of Sir Percival andthe " (here he shuddered, that his armour rang)" Maiden of the Alder-tree ?"

" In part, I have," said I ; " for yesterday, at theentrance of this forest, I found in a cottage thevolume wherein it is recorded."

" Then take heed," he rejoined ; " for, see myarmour ; I put it off; and as it befel to him, so has itbefallen to me. I that was proud am humble now.Yet is she terribly beautiful beware. Never," headded, raising his head, " shall this armour be fur-bished, but by the blows of knightly encounter, untilthe last speck has disappeared from every spot wherethe battle-axe and sword of evil-doers, or noble foes,might fall ; when I shall again lift my head, and sayF 2


78/337

68 PHANTASTES.,

to my squire, * Do thy duty once more, and makethis armour shine.' "

Before I could inquire further, he had struckspurs into his horse and galloped away, shroudedfrom my voice in the noise of his armour. For Icalled after him, anxious to know more about thisfearful enchantress ; but in vain he heard me not." Yet," I said to myself, " I have now been oftenwarned ; surely I shall be well on my guard ; and Iam fully resolved I shall not be ensnared by anybeauty, however beautiful. Doubtless, some oneman may escape, and I shall be he." So I went oninto the wood, still hoping to find, in some one of itsmysterious recesses, my lost lady of the marble. Thesunny afternoon died into the loveliest twilight. Greatbats began to flit about with their own noiseless flight,seemingly purposeless, because its objects are unseen.The monotonous music of the owl issued from all un-expected quarters in the half-darkness around me.The glow-worm was alight here and there, burning outinto the great universe. The night-hawk heightenedall the harmony and stillness with his oft-recurring,discordant jar. Numberless unknown sounds cameout of the unknown dusk ; but all were of twilight-kind, oppressing the heart as with a condensed


79/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 69atmosphere of dreamy undefined love and longing.The odours of night arose, and bathed me in thatluxurious mournfulness peculiar to them, as if theplants whence they floated had been watered withbygone tears. Earth drew me towards her bosom ;I felt as if I could fall down and kiss her. I forgotI was in Fairy Land, and seemed to be walking in aperfect night of our own old nursing earth. Greatstems rose about me, uplifting a thick multitu-dinous roof above me of branches, and twigs, andleaves the bird and insect world uplifted overmine, with its own landscapes, its own thickets,and paths, and glades, and dwellings ; its own bird-ways and insect-delights. Great boughs crossedmy path; great roots based the tree-columns, andmightily clasped the earth, strong to lift and strongto uphold. It seemed an old, old forest, perfect inforest ways and pleasures. And when, in the midstof this ecstasy, I remembered that under some closecanopy of leaves, by some giant stem, or in somemossy cave, or beside some leafy well, sat the lady ofthe marble, whom my songs had called forth into theouter world, waiting (might it npt be ?) to meet andthank her deliverer in a twilight which would veilher confusion, the whole night became one dream-


80/337

70 PHANTASTES :realm of joy, the central form of which waseverywhere present, although unbeheld. Then,remembering how my songs seemed to have calledher from the marble, piercing through the pearlyshroud of alabaster " Why," thought I, " should notmy voice reach her now, through the ebon night thatinwraps her." My voice burst into song so sponta-neously that it seemed involuntarily.

Not a soundBut, echoing in me,Vibrates all aroundWith a blind delight,Till it breaks on thee,Queen of Night !Every tree,O'ershadowingwith glcom,Seems to cover theeSecret, dark, love-still'd,In a holy roomSilence-filled,Let no moonCreep up the heaven to-night.I in darksome noon"Walking hopefully,Seek my shrouded lightGrope for thee !Darker growThe borders of the dark !Through the branches glow !From the roof above,Star and diamond-spark,Light for love.


81/337

A FAERIE ROMANCE. 71Scarcely had the last sounds floated away from the

hearing of my own ears, when I heard instead a lowdelicious laugh near me. It was not the laugh ofO Oone who would not be heard, but the laugh of onewho has just received something long and patientlydesired a laugh that ends in a low musical moan.I started, and, turning sideways, saw a dim whitefigure seated beside an intertwining thicket of smallertrees and underwood.

" It is my white lady!" I said, and flung myself onthe ground beside her ; striving, through the gather-ing darkness, to get a glimpse of the form which hadbroken

phantastes ; a faerie romance (george macdonald, 1858).pdf

Documents